
Photography courtesy of Curt Dennison
Daniel Burkhardt kept seeing books extolling natural beauty elsewhere: the mountains of Colorado, the coast of Maine. He thought the Missouri River Valley, which he calls “the back yard of St. Louis,” deserved recognition, too. As it turned out, many people agreed. With contributions from Gov. Jay Nixon, chef Gerard Craft, Missouri Botanical Garden president Peter Wyse Jackson, and dozens of others, Burkhardt released Missouri River Country, a book featuring nearly 200 pages of beautiful photographs and heartfelt tales of life on the river, “from Hermann to the confluence.” “Readers will have more appreciation for the art, architecture, agriculture, history—everything that’s out there,” Burkhardt says. “The Missouri River Valley is pretty spectacular.”